


love★struck!

by badfriend



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Coming of Age, Crush at First Sight, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Light Angst, Pining, is there such thing as a fast slow burn because that's what this is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24892831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badfriend/pseuds/badfriend
Summary: This one's about being completely infatuated with Sugawara, but then thinking about it really, really, REALLY carefully before realising that maybe you do have a lot of baggage to sift through before even considering the prospect of dating—let alone dating someone who everybody has had a crush on at one point or another.
Relationships: Sugawara Koushi/Original Female Character(s), Sugawara Koushi/Reader
Comments: 18
Kudos: 70





	1. sugawara koushi, how do i even begin to explain sugawara koushi?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ACT I SCENE I | SPRING

It was predictable really, how you fell for the boy who turned out to be every parent’s dream son-in-law. Koushi Sugawara was friendly, studious, good at sports, and most important of all—he was respectful towards his elders. Sugawara was not only the perfect son-in-law—oh no, he just had to be the sweetest _senpai_ that Karasuno could ever have.

At first, you tried to ignore all the signs. Your increased heartbeat was a sign of your anxiety, not the result of Sugawara simply walking into the same vicinity as you; your warm, flushed cheeks when he flashed you a smile and thanked you for bringing snacks for everyone at the practice match was a sign of genuine appreciation, not the result of some hidden agenda. 

_(you’re so thoughtful and unlike oikawa, he had giggled,_

_and you swear you could have fallen in love right then and there)_

To make matters worse, you found out that Sugawara could be fun too.

During break time, you had caught a glimpse of Sugawara teasing his teammates with as much vigour as a ten-year-old kid; that boyish charm manifesting in the way his eyes twinkled with pure mirth as he was being scolded by Daichi for laughing at his _kouhai_ instead of laughing with them. Sugawara had said something along the lines of ‘it won’t happen again, captain!’, but the way he said it (his fingers crossed behind his back, eyes crinkled enough to emphasise the beauty spot underneath) made Daichi beg to differ. As soon as Daichi’s back was turned, Sugawara’s lips pulled back into a menacing grin and he promptly resumed tormenting a first year by the name of Kageyama Tobio.

Okay, you had to make a swift exit to the bathroom because you could _not_ stop thinking about how cute he looked and _oh_ _god this is so cliché._

There was a buzz of noise just outside the bathroom stall you were in. You could hear a couple of girls talking and they were saying the darndest things about the boy who currently occupied your brain.

“Koushi Sugawara is flawless.”

“He has perfectly tousled bed hair, a good figure and soft, pore-less skin.”

You just wanted to pee.

“I hear that he’s one of Karasuno’s qualified volleyball setters, but he doesn’t set anymore because those first years have joined and basically replaced him.”

“I hear he’s been scouted to do skincare infomercials, for Shiseido, Kao and Kose.”

“The big three?”

“As expected of our glass skin boy!!”

You flushed the toilet, wondering what in the world ‘glass skin’ was before you remembered the night Oikawa dropped his skincare routine and said something about products that were bound to achieve said skin.

“And his favourite food is mapo tofu, how cute is that!?”

The three girls squealed in delight and you stepped towards the sink to wash your hands diligently.

“One time, he met Twice’s Sana on a plane, and she told him that he was pretty.”

“WAIT, HE MET SANA?”

“SANA FROM TWICE?”

“YES, SANA FROM TWICE!”

“I wish I met Sana on a plane,” someone else grumbled.

As the conversation took a completely different turn, so did you, and you ran right out of that bathroom and back into the gymnasium.

*

They say that behind every great man is a great woman, or something like that. But behind Oikawa (a boy) was a small girl (you) who kind of just appeared out of nowhere, pissed-off and ready to punch someone (Oikawa) in the face.

Oikawa had done it again. He had approached another girl without taking into consideration the headstrong, though somewhat flirtatious, aura he possessed. And it was so evident when he decided to go talk to Karasuno’s team manager and was rejected effective-immediately.

Luckily you made it in time before two Karasuno second-years could jump-kick your dumb friend. You pulled Oikawa down by the collar of his jersey and bowed alongside him.

“Ow, ow, ow—ok I’m bowing!”

You nudged his arm and Oikawa apologised. “I’m sorry Kiyoko- _san_.”

“Did he just call her by her fi—” The buzzcut Karasuno boy looked like he was about go feral.

“Tanaka, just let it go,” Kiyoko said evenly. You straightened up at the sound of her voice and not to be dramatic but when your eyes met, your mind froze at the realisation that this girl in front of you had the aura of someone who truly suited their role as team manager.

This was your cue to leave, so you silently bowed again and left with Oikawa in tow.

Somewhere in between that exchange, Sugawara jogged towards the three to see what all the commotion was about.

“Shimizu, are you okay?” He asked. Kiyoko nodded and Sugawara followed the direction of her eyes. He smirked at the sight of Oikawa hunched next to your small stature. He thinks it’s funny, the sight of you two walking together.

How can someone so small have such a big effect on someone as brazen as Oikawa? 

You didn’t end up yelling at Oikawa but he cowered anyway when you started explaining the situation to him on your walk back to your designated benches.

“Look, it’s like this. Shimizu- _senpai_ looks like she’s a bit shy and you’re like…” You really did not know how to begin to describe what Oikawa was, but settled with: “…not shy”. He glanced down at you with sad puppy eyes and you patted him on the arm and continued. “I just think that you probably came off as too strong this time ‘round”.

Oikawa pressed his tongue against his cheek. “This doesn’t bother me at all. Nope, not one bit.”

“Hey, being loud and obnoxious works with certain people!” You quickly added. “But I think she is, well, a bit reserved and troubled by how much attention she receives.”

“Exactly! I don’t get why she isn’t used to it yet. I mean I get loads of attention from my fans and I’m used to it.”

It pained you to hear Oikawa make that comment, but you decided as of fifteen seconds ago that you would be nice to him for the rest of the day.

“Anyways, why do you always go for the quiet girls? It’s like you want to sabotage yourself.”

Well, as nice as you could possibly manage.

Oikawa huffed.

“Yeah, well, what’s up with you and Mr Refreshing anyway? Do you like the guy?”

“Oikawa- _senpai_ ,” you began through gritted teeth, “what’s with the change in conversation?”

“You don’t even know the guy,” he said, ignoring your death glare from below.

“I know I don’t even know the guy! I’ve had like two interactions with him.” Not that you were keeping count, of course.

“You wanna know what I think?”

“No, I don’t want to know what you think.”

“Well too bad, I’m gonna tell you anyway. I think that you’re just a hopeless romantic.”

“Yeah, and what of it? Did you just notice? Dumbass.”

“Why do you and Iwaizumi continue to disrespect me this way?” Oikawa asked with a pout.

You rolled your eyes. “Because we love you, _senpai_ ”.

The person who was within earshot, none other than Mr Refreshing himself, selectively heard the words “ _senpai_ ” and “love you” uttered by you and for some god-awful reason, it had caused his brain to go into overdrive.

When he got back to his team, he had a curious look on his face that made Daichi immediately go into interrogation mode.

“Something wrong, Suga?”

Sugawara’s hands pressed together behind his back in an effort to subdue the sudden tension shooting up his fingertips.

“Hey Daichi, what year is that Seijoh-girl in? The one who was with Oikawa today.”

“Oh her? Oikawa mentioned that she’s a few months older than Hinata.”

“A few months older than Hinata!?” spluttered Sugawara. The pain in his fingers increased by a tenfold.

“Yeah, but she’s a second year like Tanaka and Nishinoya.”

“The same age as Hinata?” Sugawara repeated in disbelief.

“Like I said,” Daichi deadpanned.

“Argh, then why didn’t you just lead with that instead?” This girl was younger than him and would therefore (most likely) have to refer to him as _senpai_ the next time they met—if they ever met after this at all. His brain was short-circuiting again.

“She’s like… a baby.” He found himself muttering.

“You’re both high-schoolers, I don’t see what the problem is?”

Sugawara thought for a moment. “Okay, man that’s not weird right?” He continued muttering, not even stopping to notice the pitying expression on Daichi’s face. “Are they going out?”

Even though Daichi was obviously being ignored, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to poke fun at his clueless friend.

“Why? Are you jealous?”

Sugawara actually pouted and Daichi wanted to laugh (or yell—because how dare he ignore him!) in his face.

Sugawara sighed. “No, I don’t even know the girl.”

*

Extra:

You almost forgot to refill your water bottle on the way out and quickly stopped by the outdoor water dispenser, loudly sighing to yourself.

“Ah shit, seriously, Mr Refreshing?” You muttered as you began refilling your bottle. A light tap on your head made Oikawa’s presence known.

He grinned. “Hey potty-mouth, you left without me.”

You made a show of gulping down half the bottle before wiping your mouth and responding.

“What do you want?” You grumbled, then stepped sideways to smile at Iwaizumi who was standing behind Oikawa. He greeted you back with a smile right before you were blinded by Oikawa's shiny teeth, gleaming at you.

“Hm? Are you still feeling troubled because of Mr Refreshing?” He watched your smile turn into a scowl at the sound of the nickname given to Sugawara and suppressed a snort.

You slowly nodded in defeat. “What do I do?”

“I don’t know.” Oikawa shrugged. “Die?”

“Is that how you deal with all your problems, Oikawa? Repress them, then shrivel up and die? Why do I even bother talking to boys?” You mumbled the last bit to yourself as you left Oikawa behind again.

“There, there.” Iwaizumi patted Oikawa’s shoulder. “Not everyone can be as pleasant as you.”

Oikawa gasped. “Iwa-chan! Was that a diss? I’m pretty sure that was a diss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to inform you all that this specific ~reader is implied to be a girl and a rather short one at that. She's shorter than Sugawara but also waaaay shorter than Oikawa. Maybe reader just comes up to Oikawa's chest? His underboob? That's (1) definitive characteristic in my head right now. Will update if needed. <3
> 
> Also! I'm playing around with writing styles again, and so I've borrowed some stylistic references from some of my favourite fanfic authors. Though I do keep screaming to myself: complete not perfect! Complete it, don't perfect it!!!! (Yet) So what I'm trying to say is that this story won't undergo as much rigorous editing as, let's say... the academic crap that I spew. 
> 
> &&&&YES the dialogue exchange between the girls in the bathroom is straight out of the Regina George montage in Mean Girls (2004).  
> Dare I say, iconic?  
> 


	2. the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, kiyoko shimizu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ACT I SCENE II | SPRING/SUMMER

Aoba Johsai lost against Karasuno in the Spring High Playoffs.

Oikawa was on the bus ride home from the tournament when he messaged you.

‘We didn’t make it’, the text had read. Your heart sank.

Had you known what to send back, you would have sent a heartfelt message or maybe even an apology for who knows why. Instead, you decided that a spontaneous visit to Oikawa’s house was more important than all the homework you had due tomorrow (and you could always finish it during homeroom so who cares right?).

When Oikawa opened his front door to see you heaving, he opened his mouth to question you but immediately silenced after you put a finger to his lips. 

“I’m here because I know that you have too much pride to ask for help, even from Iwaizumi,” you said as you got a box out of your backpack, “and my sister made chocolate mochi cookies for us to eat, ok?”

Oikawa brightened up. “She did?”

You waved him off and let yourself in. “Pfft no, I stole them of course. Now let’s hurry up and eat them before she notices.”

Oikawa scoffed. “Wouldn’t she notice anyw—”

“ _SENPAI_ , I’M GONNA EAT THEM ALL IF YOU DON’T CLOSE THE DOOR.”

*

*

*

It was a surprise to you that Kiyoko invited you to go watch Karasuno’s match with Shiratorizawa. First of all, how did she even get your LINE? When you asked Kiyoko about this, she immediately texted back with ‘Oikawa’. You snorted, thinking about how bewildered Oikawa must have been to have Kiyoko approach him first after your previous conversation with him.

**[6:16pm]**

how was the talk with kiyoko?

[ **read 6:18pm** ] 

shut up

**[read 6:18pm]**

she invited me to karasuno v shiratorizawa. u going too?

**[read 6:18pm]**

no i would rather die than see kageyama help karasuno win

**[read 6:19pm]**

u cant hold a grudge against kageyama forever

**[read 6:19pm]**

sure i canbsj

this is iwaizumi. we'll meet you outside sendai city gymnasium at 8?

You snorted again and replied with a dozen heart emojis that were sure to make Oikawa squirm.

*

“Hey traitor,” greeted Oikawa. Iwaizumi opened his palm and lightly whacked the back of Oikawa’s head.

“Be nice.”

Oikawa grumbled, then cleared his throat. “Hey cute traitor!” He said and cupped his face in his hands as if to pose for a photo. You flipped him off.

“You’re here too, remember? That makes us all traitors. But you more so because you’re actually on the volleyball team.” Before Oikawa could retort, he was interrupted by another voice calling your name from behind.

“Kiyoko- _san_!” Oikawa exclaimed. You spun around and surely enough, there Kiyoko was in her usual manager garb and clipboard at hand.

“Shimizu- _senpai_!” You repeated.

She smiled at you. “Call me Kiyoko- _san_ , and I’m so glad you made it.” You beamed at her.

“Ok, Kiyoko- _san_!”

Kiyoko then nodded in acknowledgement of Oikawa and Iwaizumi, who returned the gesture.

“I’m going ahead with Kiyoko- _san_ , see ya later boys,” you said smugly as you waved them off and linked arms with Kiyoko. As the two of you went inside the gymnasium, you could hear Oikawa faintly muttering about how he was definitely not bothered again.

*

The first time you see Sugawara out of his volleyball uniform you swear you ascended into the gates of heaven. It was by accident, of course, for you just happened to be strolling past the boy while chatting animatedly to Kiyoko about your respective volleyball teams. You see, Oikawa was amicable towards his teammates, but he was also a bit of a gossip. It was nothing insidious, really; just a few embarrassing stories here and there, and you were not immune to the hilarity of the stories relayed back to you.

So there you were recounting the time you had to bail Oikawa out of his date because he had explosive diarrhoea.

“And,” you said between fits of laughter, “the poor girl told me that she thought Oikawa was feeling queasy because she happened to be older than him! But I couldn’t say that he was busy _literally_ shitting himself on the toilet.” You wiped a tear that had formed at the corner of your eye at the memory. Kiyoko attempted to smother her laugh and when she looked up again, she blinked once or twice in recognition at the Karasuno uniform before her.

“Sugawara, why are you still in your uniform?” Kiyoko asked and gestured to his haphazardly buttoned shirt. You turned your head just in time to see Sugawara’s lips quirk up in a delightful grin and oh, those beautiful lips—if only you had something poetic to say about them instead of just standing there trying to visually process the celestial being before you.

He looked between you and Kiyoko then said, with an even brighter smile if humanly possible, “Ah, sorry Shimizu, I had to help Michimiya with her posters”.

Kiyoko sighed. “She still has trouble getting those girls to wake up in the morning?”

Sugawara chuckled and said with a serious nod, “Being captain is hard”. Then he took one look at you and broke into that impish grin of his. “I would know because I’m vice-captain,” he added proudly.

You beamed at him with undeniable admiration. 

Kiyoko nodded then clasped her hands together. “Oh! Right! How rude of me not to ask—but have the two of you met before?”

“Yes!” You and Sugawara said in enthusiastic unison.

It was as if a light bulb turned on in Kiyoko’s mind. “Ah, that’s good.” She nodded approvingly. She would have to question you later about this epiphany of hers. “Anyway, you should go change quickly or you'll be late for the game.”

"Right." Sugawara strapped his bag across his chest and started jogging backwards as he frantically waved goodbye to you and Kiyoko. "See you later!"

Meanwhile, the corners of Kiyoko’s mouth lifted a little. “It’s hard to believe that Sugawara is in the same year level as me.”

That snapped you out of your reverie. “Is he that immature?” You asked, smiling at the memory of Sugawara putting an orange-haired boy you would come to know as Shoyo Hinata (through Oikawa's infamous rivalry blacklist) into a headlock.

“Sugawara can be reliable, but," Kiyoko chuckled to herself, "he is the silliest out of us third-years. And like you, he's a real mood-maker.”

You stopped walking for a second. “W-what, like me?”

“Ehh, you haven’t noticed?”

You shook your head sideways and it was Kiyoko’s turn to blush. “I’ve noticed that your team seemed happier and more energised when you played around with them before a practice match.”

“WHAT? No way! They just tolerate me because I constantly bully them into submission," you half-joked (because they were super fun to tease after all). "They’re all like annoying brothers—no actually I love my younger brothers and they’re not nearly as annoying as those boys—they’re more like annoying, uh, older cousins to me.”

“It’s good to see that you have such a comfortable relationship with your classmates to the point where you can pick on them and they will still like being around you. I’m envious!” Your jaw dropped. She could not be serious right now. But one look at Kiyoko’s twinkling eyes and you knew that she was being totally serious. 

“Aw, thanks. It’s nothing compared to how your team holds you in such high regard. They worship you. It’s actually pretty funny.” Your eyes shifted to Kiyoko’s solemn but highly amused expression. "But they’re cute too!” You added quickly.

“Oh, like Sugawara?” said Kiyoko, clearly knowing more than she let on. 

“Kiyoko- _san_ ,” You whined indignantly, then in a smaller voice, asked, “How did you know?”

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Well, your good rapport with your classmates wasn’t the only thing I noticed when you came to our practice matches. Frankly, you looked very captivated by Sugawara every time you came down to share snacks with us.” She eyed you curiously as your eyes began to waver. “Unless my assumption was wrong this whole time and it’s not Sugawara you like?”

“It’s him.” _It just had to be him._ “I just think he’s really cool," you mumbled. 

“You should say that the next time you meet him,” Kiyoko suggested.

“What? I don’t want to confess!”

“Then what’s the point of harbouring such an intense crush on him, if you don’t mind me asking that is.” You felt a stab in your gut. Kiyoko was right. You thought back to your conversation with Oikawa and how you reprimanded him for not dealing with his problems straight away and now you were doing exactly what you told him not to do.

“I don’t know, I was just thinking of getting through high school with Sugawara at the back of my mind,” you said sheepishly. “And then one day, when I’m old and senile, I’ll recollect how love-struck I was for him and live the rest of my life in regret about what could have been.” You groaned. Now you were definitely being dramatic, but who could blame you? You were a hormonal teenager and hormonal teenagers went through these things every day and came out unscathed (for the most part).

You smiled ruefully at Kiyoko as she squeezed your shoulder. “I understand. I have two boys on the team who also have a very obvious crush on me, and sometimes I feel bad for not responding but that’s because I just don’t know either,” she said.

“They really like you, Kiyoko-san,” you replied. “I swear one of them was actually going to beat up Oikawa if I hadn’t stepped in.”

“Don’t worry, Tanaka wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

You thought back to the buzz-cut guy who kept giving Oikawa dirty looks and how soft he became after Kiyoko had told him off. Maybe you judged him too fast?

“I wonder if Sugawara would be the type to hurt a fly,” you wondered out loud.

“No, he wouldn’t,” Kiyoko assured.

“Yeah, he’d be the type to try and befriend it and then the fly would develop a big, stupid crush on him and always bug him.” You paused momentarily so Kiyoko could let those words sink in, then said, “Get it? Bug?” You snickered. When Kiyoko finally registered the pun in her head, she let out a hearty laugh so different from her usual giggles that the people in the corridor were mystified by Karasuno’s beautiful manager’s uncanny outburst.

Maybe you did have some sort of effect on people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoko is, and I cannot stress this enough, a SAVAGE. Kidding, she's just a very sincere person.
> 
> Some notes though:  
> (1) the three-act format is just a self-reminder. I'm not necessarily adhering to Shakespearean standards or anything so please don't hold that against me!!  
> (2) LINE is a popular phone communication/free call and text/messenger app, like what facebook messenger is to some of us, kakao talk to south koreans, snapchat to... all immigrant families really lmao
> 
> Oh, and, spoiler alert for the next chapter: you and Kiyoko have finally reached the entrance to the volleyball courts just as the Karasuno v Shiratorizawa match is about to start. Phew, that was a long walk.


	3. and sugar, we're going down swingin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ACT I SCENE III | SUMMER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to process the fact that Haikyuu! is ending in two days and I'm like TT, just like TT.

**SHIRATORIZAWA BA-BAM! BA-BAM! BAM!**

You couldn't even hear yourself say goodbye to Kiyoko as you entered the gymnasium and parted ways. After that, it was easy enough to spot your friends in the crowd. Oikawa had texted you beforehand to look for them at the back row right up against the walls.

**SHIRATORIZAWA BA-BAM! BA-BAM! BAM!**

“Was there a reason why you chose the very back row to sit in!?” You yelled over the crowd.

“So I wouldn’t have to see either of them up close,” Oikawa replied. You shuffled to the seat between them and sniffed. 

"You really are a crappy guy."

"That again?" 

Iwaizumi chuckled. “It's either that or shitty-kawa. Your choice.”

"Well, I guess, the former," Oikawa mumbled.

Before they could argue more, a loud whistle indicated that the game had started. 

**SHIRATORIZAWA BA-BAM! BA-BAM! BAM!**

**SHIRATORIZAWA BA-BAM! BA-BAM! BAM!**

**SHIRATORIZAWA BA—**

**BAM!**

Karasuno seemed off at first. It was in the way Daichi served the first ball—

"Out!" 

"Nice call, Goshiki!" 

—and the way Tanaka and Asahi campfired the next one in their court.

"Damnit, everybody calm the hell down!" Sugawara yelled from the sidelines.

And with that refreshing outburst, the tension had eased a bit. 

**BA-BAM!**

‘Southpaw’ was what Iwaizumi explained to you as the powerful, left-handed serve that Ushijima wielded. And boy, oh boy, Karasuno was not prepared for the difference in trajectory.

_Yet._

“Give me three times before I get the timing right!” Nishinoya vowed. His teammates simply nodded, knowing full well that their libero could do it.

And true to his word, Nishinoya got the timing down on his third try and Ushijima’s serve flew high.

**BAM!**

A funny thing happened when Sugawara was first subbed in. The ball he served was for Ushijima but it was Reon who stepped in to receive the ball. Ushijima did not move at all.

Sugawara made a quick assessment in his head. Their team was purposely leaving all serves and back-row sets to arguably their most powerful player. And it worked.

Shiratorizawa took the first set; 25:16.

*

"Damn," you cussed. Oikawa snickered, which earned a prompt **THWACK!** from Iwaizumi. 

There was a small group of Karasuno supporters down below cheering with all their might and Kiyoko's protégé, Yachi, was amongst them.

"Don't sweat it, guys!"

"Next set, next set!"

It was endearing really and you felt fired up just by watching them.

"KARASUNO FIGHT!" You shouted at the top of your lungs. Iwaizumi whooped automatically and even Oikawa was roped into cheering. For which team? You didn't really know.

.

.

.

(It was Karasuno and Oikawa would deny it if anyone ever asked him).

*

As soon as the second set started, Karasuno and Shiratorizawa were neck-to-neck. No team could score more than one point at a time and even from a distance, you could tell that the game was becoming more of a battle of stamina than anything. What you couldn’t see from a distance was the sure glint in Sugawara’s eyes as he led yet another successful synchronised attack. Sugawara thumped Kageyama on the back good-naturedly and you did the same to Oikawa.

**BA-BAM! BA-BAM! BAM!**

With energies depleting and adrenaline running high, it was time for Ushijima to serve again. But in this rotation, Tsukishima was in front and so were his irritatingly precise blocks. 

"That bastard sure is persistent," Shirabu muttered. 

"Don't mind," echoed a couple of his teammates.

Tsukishima knew from experience that it was the setter who also suffered from being repeatedly shut down. What good was setting up a ball for your teammate if the other team deflected it each time? Tsukishima knew this and waited.

He waited for that crack in resolve; for that moment he could determine what went wrong and readjust, but only by a fraction. No one could notice him.

No. No one _would_ notice him. 

_Not yet._

"Deflected," Tsukishima announced. He would show just how persistent of a bastard he was.

And by the time Shirabu could decipher the glint in Tsukishima’s eye after he set the ball up for Ushijima, it’d be too late; he could only shiver.

_Now!_

The spotlight of opportunity Tsukishima had calculated for appeared in front of him. He modified his block to the left at the exact same time Ushijima attacked and the ball was roofed.

“Someone stuffed Ushijima!?”

“Who is that guy!?”

_It was just one block._

_It was just one point out of 25._

_This is just a club._

To Tsukishima’s utter dismay, a boisterous owl’s words rushed back to him.

( _but once that moment arrives for you,_

 _that’s the moment you’ll be hooked on volleyball._ )

And so, Tsukishima pulled back his fist at the small but definite victory.

Set 2 was over and Karasuno had won, 31 to 29. Noise came flooding back into Tsukishima’s ears and he was aware of his surroundings at once as Tanaka and Nishinoya pummelled into him while his other teammates, coaches and manager screamed their hearts out. Meanwhile in the crowd, the row of Karasuno supporters cried out in relief and joy, with one certain blond-headed guy looking like he was about to burst with pride. 

“Well, he’s no Mr Ordinary anymore,” Oikawa deadpanned.

Iwaizumi had a knowing smirk on his face as he recalled the feeling of exhilaration whenever he bumped an opponent’s seemingly flawless serve. No other feeling could compare and he bet Tsukishima felt the same.

And you, well, you were too busy picking your jaw up from the floor to even speak.

*

In the fifth and final set, it was clear that Sugawara could not, for the life of him, feel his freakin' hands. He had warmed up beforehand, but his hands were just _so damn co—_

"Eh!?" Sugawara squeaked. A pair of warm hands clasped over his and when Sugawara looked up, he was greeted by an angelic, bespectacled goddess. Kiyoko's hands were placed over his in an attempt to warm him up. Once Sugawara processed what was going on, he flushed from the tip of his ears down to his neck and in the spur of the moment, may or may not have indirectly asked Kiyoko to marry him.

"Don't worry, I have no plans to marry you," Kiyoko said evenly. 

Suddenly, Daichi piped up next to him. "I'll hold your hand for you." Then Asahi appeared beside them with darkened features.

"No, if you need someone to hold your hand then I volunteer." From the corner of his eye, Sugawara could also see Tanaka and Nishinoya closing in on him and let out a shriek. Somewhere amidst all that chaos, Ennoshita watched his team in high relief.

_Well, at least there's no need to be worried about morale._

As you watched the scene unfold, you couldn't help but feel a pang of something like envy nag at you. Though you squashed that emotion at the back of your mind when you felt Iwaizumi and Oikawa's eyes on you, concern etched in their faces.

"Guys, I'm fine," you said with a tight-lipped smile. That feeling could be assessed later, you told yourself. Now it was time to watch Karasuno shine. 

*

Sugawara was put in as Karasuno’s starting setter and he had already made two mistakes. He put the ball up too low and was blocked by Tendo, who made an off-handed comment about Sugawara’s ‘easy-peasy reads’. Sugawara bared his teeth—though to the untrained eye, it may have looked like he was just grinning and nothing more.

“We have some really good left-side hitters, so why wouldn’t I set it for them?” And he was right; their hitters were really good. Everyone on their team was good. But they couldn’t stop at just ‘good’. They had to be better.

_“I'd like all of you to think about your choices. Think carefully and choose the path you believe will leave you with the fewest regrets five-to-ten years from now."_

_Sugawara was under the impression that he had options when Takeda-sensei told the third-years about the national games cutting it close to university entrance exams. So why was he ordered by his teachers to go to the careers counsellor’s office for the second time that week?_

_"You have good grades, Sugawara-kun.” It was an observation rather than a statement._

_Sugawara nodded. "I've been studying during the matches when I can and it's worked out so far, so, I think that if I follow the same routine, I'll be able to study well during the preliminaries and nationals."_

_The earnestness is the student’s voice nearly made the counsellor smile. “Your teachers think that club activities will ruin your academic record.” She paused, then sighed. “And that it’s a waste of time.”_

_“I know.” Sugawara was rattling his brain. Why was she telling him things he already knew?_

_"What do you want to be when you leave this school?” Or who do you want to be, she should have asked._

_Sugawara thought for a moment. “I don’t know.”_

_“A pro-volleyball player?”_

_Sugawara shook his head. “No.” He just wanted to play volleyball for fun. For future nostalgia, or so that he could have something to look back on. There was no harm in wanting to have fun, right?_ _And maybe he was lying to Kageyama when he told him that he was fine about being the back-up setter. Maybe he wasn’t fine at all._

_Sugawara gripped his wrist behind his back and focused on compressing and decompressing one finger at a time._

_He just wanted to stand on the court alongside his teammates_ _for as long as possible and with the hope that maybe they’ll win a few games with him on it. But it felt like he was running out of time._

 _“I don’t want to box myself in by choosing a career now and regretting it in a few years’ time. Just because I’m good at studying does not mean that I like studying.”_

_“You’re right.”_

_Now Sugawara was even more confused._

_“You can’t just do something because you’re good at it, you have to like it too. But if you don’t take risks, then you’ll be stuck and if you don’t want to box yourself in like you said, then you have to be proactive; research your alternatives, talk to people in different fields about personal things like emotional labour and environmental factors that you might not know about. Keep in mind that despite all the preparation you can do, there are always things outside of your control. Life happens. Interests change. You’ll just have to adapt.”_

Tsukishima busted his fingers trying to block another one of Ushijima’s killer serves and was subbed out to get medical attention.

"Buy me some time. Got it?" He instructed Shoyo.

Back on the court, Karasuno prepared for yet another five-man synchronised attack. This time, Sugawara was ready. He knew the ball wasn't going to him, but he had to play the part.

Three decoys; four possible plays. But all Sugawara could think about while running up to the net was how glad he was to be on the court right now, even as just a decoy— _that_ he learned by studying Shoyo every day. 

_If I don’t take risks then I’m just the same as I was before._

Karasuno: 8; Shiratorizawa: 9. The crows had caught up again. 

_Sugawara came bursting into the career counsellor’s office a third time that week. Takeda-sensei told the boys that they were going to Tokyo to practice with their old rival team, Nekoma, and suddenly time seemed to slow down just a little._

_“I think I want to become a teacher!” Sugawara announced breathlessly._

_She raised an eyebrow at the sudden outburst. “You sound like you’ve got a plan.”_

_“Yes I do!”_

_“And—”_

_“And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to adapt. I know.”_

_She let herself smile this time. “Good luck.”_

.

.

.

Karasuno won against Shiratorizawa; 21:19. And it was the third years who couldn’t believe it the most. After endless yelling and group huddling, Sugawara breathed a sigh of relief at having made the right choice to continue with volleyball. Absolutely nothing was going to replace this feeling of camaraderie, tears, and exhaustion.

Nothing at all.

*

"Come on, let's go home," Oikawa said as he gently pushed you towards Iwaizumi. "I'd rather die than see the awards ceremony."

"I'm moving, I'm moving!!" You grumbled as he continued poking at your sides. Once you exited the gymnasium, you remembered that you had not thanked Kiyoko for inviting you yet and gasped. “Wait, you guys go ahead, I gotta say goodbye to Kiyoko- _san_!”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi both turned their heads back to see you already running off. “Huh?”

“I’ll meet you at the station!!” You called back and ventured off to look for the Karasuno girl.

The Karasuno boys' volleyball team was packed up and ready to go when you came huffing towards them, hands on your knees and your head bent forward. They froze in surprise at the small girl catching her breath. Kiyoko was about to ask if you were okay when you perked up with a huge smile on your face.

"Congratulations everyone!! You all did really well." You abruptly said and the group was suddenly a mess of bows and profuse 'thank-you's'. With that out of the way, most of the boys left you alone as you turned to Kiyoko and bowed. "Thank you for inviting me, Kiyoko- _san._ " 

"No, thanks for coming!" She replied with a slight stutter. 

"Yeah, thanks for coming to watch us play.” Another voice, this time achingly familiar and sweet, came from behind Kiyoko. Sugawara had lingered behind long enough to hear your conversation with Kiyoko and you chewed your lip in frustration. 

"You looked so cool out there, Sugawara- _san,”_ you said. Sugawara furrowed his eyebrows at your guarded smile.

“Thank you,” he replied politely. Kiyoko glimpsed your slightly bewildered face and you frowned. _God, why was this getting awkward all of a sudden?_

“How are you getting home?” Sugawara asked after a beat.

“Oh, I’m taking the subway with my friends!” You perked up again. “Oikawa- _senpai_ and Iwaizumi- _senpai_ ,” you added for emphasis.

Sugawara suddenly felt ticked off at the mention of their names. “Oh, well, _we_ ,” he paused and gestured to Kiyoko, “gotta go as well.” But before he turned to leave, Sugawara studied you once more as your smile didn't quite reach your eyes. “Take care," he said and left you with a wistful half-smile. 

When Sugawara hopped onto the bus, Shoyo folded his arms atop his seat and peered down with a curious smile.

“Suga! Who was that pretty girl you were talking to?”

“Hinata-boke!” Kageyama interjected before Sugawara could answer. “Don’t you remember seeing her around when we did practice with Aobajohsai. She’s with Oikawa.”

“The great king has a girlfriend?”

“Oikawa’s girlfriend dumped him already,” Kageyama supplied.

“What! How did you even know that?”

“None of your business.”

“So, what is she then, the new great queen?”

Kageyama considered it for a moment. “If she is, then she must be as scary as him.”

“She doesn’t look scary to me.”

“Small people can be scary too,” Nishinoya said from one side of the bus.

“Their height difference is kind of cute,” Kinoshita added.

“I hate to say it, but they do make a cute couple because of that alone,” Tanaka admitted from another side of the bus.

“You’re right,” Shoyo and Kageyama said together.

“They’re not together!” Sugawara asserted a bit too loudly. They all went quiet for a moment but the moment didn't last long and soon Shoyo and Kageyama burst into another argument about copying what the other was saying.

Tsukishima finally found his headphones (his saviour) at the bottom of duffel bag and put them on, not before muttering to himself: “Idiots, they’re actually all idiots", all the while Yamaguchi snickered next to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that brings us to the end of Act I.
> 
> At one point, I didn't realise that I was mashing up Ushijima Wakatoshi's first name and family name together and so in my drafts I just had 'Ushiwaka" down repeatedly. BUT THEN for some ungodly reason, 'Ushijima' became so hard to type that I had to check his name every time I typed it out. 
> 
> Ushijimia Ushjima Ushijimama... it never ends. 
> 
> Also, this was my first time trying to to write a sports game portion of a story as you most definitely can tell. Boy was I struggling throughout this entire chapter.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading, commenting and kudos-ing this early into the story. It just makes my heart soar <3 (Cheesy, I know)


	4. poopy-kawa is not my boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO it's been exactly 2 months since i last posted oh my goodness gracious me. if you have any questions, comments or critiques, feel free to drop them below, and as always, thank you for stopping by. ^^

Make no mistake, you were Iwaizumi’s family friend first and foremost. He was two years older than you and therefore old enough, at least in your parents’ eyes, to look after you on your first day at your new school.

“Please play with our daughter tomorrow, Hajime- _kun_ , just in case she doesn’t make any friends on the first day,” your mother had said over the phone. Iwaizumi grunted on the other line and his mother clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“Ai-ya, speak up when you’re being spoken to, Hajime! This is not how I taught you to treat your elders,” she scolded.

“Yes, _obasan_ ,” he responded gruffly.

The next day, Iwaizumi had you practising volleyball drills with him. Initially, you groaned at the idea but then again your heart was thrilled at the idea of Iwaizumi choosing not to dismiss your entire existence.

“Hey, you’re doing pretty well for a beginner,” Iwaizumi remarked.

“Thanks,” you grunted. Little did Iwaizumi know that it took all of your brainpower to focus on hitting the ball in the right direction every single time. The drills continued for a few more minutes until a hazy figure appeared in front of you. You scooped the ball under your arm before jabbing a finger forward.

 **“** Poopy-kawa?” 

“You!?” The boy exclaimed, mimicking your gesture. Iwaizumi stepped into the gap between you two and pushed your hands down at once.

“Y'know it’s rude to point at each other.” He turned to look at you. “Hey kid, why did you call Oikawa ‘poopy-kawa’? That’s also rude,” Iwaizumi added. 

“Oh, sorry, he’s just a family friend,” you explained. Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes at you and you rolled your eyes in return. “What is he, your friend?”

Iwaizumi scratched his head for a second. “Yeah.”

Oikawa gawked at him. “Why did you hesitate!?”

Iwaizumi ignored him in favour of getting to the bottom of this strange nickname that Oikawa had acquired. “So why is he ‘poopy-kawa’?”

“Because once when he came over to my house, I had to play with him because _oneesan_ wasn't there and I said, ‘let’s have a contest’, and he said, ‘what kind of contest?', then I said, ‘a peeing contest’. Anyways, our bathrooms are connected so no one can cheat and of course, I won the contest. But when we came out, I asked if he washed his hands or not and Oikawa looked at me weirdly before running back to wash his hands—which is why I call this dirty boy, 'poopy-kawa'.”

Iwaizumi burst out laughing at the long-winded explanation and you smiled cluelessly at him.

“I forgot because I was concentrating on winning, ok?" Oikawa defended. Iwaizumi laughed even harder before he reached over to ruffle your hair. You stood there proudly with your hands on your hips while Oikawa stood opposite you—mortified beyond repair for a total of four seconds before he could recover. Then, with a sharp grin, Oikawa pointed his finger in the direction of the sand pit.

"Ok, _punk_. You have a total of ten seconds to run away before I catch you and throw you into the sandpit over there. Ten, nine—”

"Bwuh?” You flubbed.

Iwaizumi dragged you away immediately. “He’s not joking, kid.”

And he wasn’t, because then Oikawa started counting backwards even faster. You broke into a sprint, wind whipping in your face as you heard Oikawa yelling “GET A LOAD OF THESE POOP HANDS WAHAHA!!!” from close behind.

Despite Iwaizumi’s initial reluctance to play with you (the poor boy just wanted to practice volleyball with his friends, not be stuck on babysitting duty), he would later be thankful for his nosy parents and their nosy ways of butting into their children’s friendships.

*

Sugawara was right about one thing: Oikawa was not your boyfriend. To you, Oikawa was a family friend; an older cousin-type-figure if you will, and if you were to get together then that would be gross (and boys were already super gross anyway).

Oikawa had found out from his parents that his older sister was a student at the middle school that your auntie taught at. Your auntie, being the overly frivolous lady she was, had invited them over so that you and Oikawa’s family could get to know each other since you were moving to the same neighbourhood. Luckily, you got along well with Oikawa’s older sister who doted on you like the little sister she never had and soon these gatherings became a regular thing amongst your households.

Eventually, even Iwaizumi’s family was invited over—because the more the merrier, right?

Well, at least your auntie seemed to think so.

_(“they’re all the same age! they can play together while we adults have some fun,” your auntie whooped._

_the night everyone came over, she already had a little to drink, and that just made everyone’s parents want to usher their kids away even faster._

_“hubby! where’s the karaoke machine? can you set it up please? thank you hubby!”_

_you could hear the faded voice of your inebriated auntie from the lounge room and groaned before sliding the door shut._

_“shotgun playing tekken first!” iwaizumi and oikawa said at the same time._

_you practically threw the controllers at them before jumping onto the sofa where your siblings sat. "ok but loser has to verse me in the next round and then we can just take turns afterwards," you said, crossing your arms with a smirk on your face._

_"pfft, i’m not gonna lose," oikawa said._

_"neither will i," iwaizumi retorted._

_your younger brothers glanced up at you questioningly but you shushed them with a look. they giggled with the secret knowledge that you were a BEAST when it came to tekken and they pitied the fool who played you next.)_

After all, there was something to be said about being cooped up together in the lounge room of each other’s household every other week playing games (both sports and console) while the adults sang to karaoke and gossiped happily in between sips of beer and wine.

*

At the beginning of the first year of high school, Oikawa heard news about a new transfer student in the year below and it turned out to be none other than yourself. He was so excited to see an old familiar face that he ran straight out of volleyball practice to meet you at the front office to show you around personally.

“Oikawa!” You yelped as his huge arms wrapped around your shoulders.

“Hey! Now that you’re here with me, you gotta call me _senpai_ from now on, alright?” He said as he finally let you breathe. 

“Oikawa- _senpai_?” You questioned.

Oikawa cackled triumphantly. 

“Hey, I didn’t agree to thi—”

“Now let’s go reunite you with Iwa- _chan_!”

Iwaizumi, for the life of him, did not know where Oikawa went half the time. Even at school, it was a mystery as to where Oikawa disappeared to during the day. He was usually late for class and absent for study hall, but these days he was frequently absent for classes as well. _Well, don’t mind_. As long as Oikawa showed up to volleyball practice (which he always did), Iwaizumi did not care what he did in his free time.

“Let’s compare timetables!” Oikawa said and happily unzipped your bag. It was obviously an excuse to look through your stuff, but for some reason you let him do it anyway.

“What… are _these_?” Oikawa held up three bright pink, square packets and you blanched at the item he pulled out instead of your school diary.

“Pads,” you mumbled, snatching them from his hand to stuff into your blazer pocket.

“Huh? Oh. _Oh_.”

“Yeah. Haven’t any of your girlfriends asked you to buy pads for them before? This shouldn’t be something new.”

“No, they don’t really publicise it.”

“Well,” you huffed, “here I am publicising that those obnoxiously bright packets you were holding are, in fact, my pads.”

“’m sorry.” Oikawa muttered. You had to laugh at the slight flush of his cheeks.

“Don’t worry about it, dumbass. They’re just pads.”

Oikawa poked your forehead. “Hey, what did I say about treating your elders with respect?” He said, impersonating the tone of your mother’s voice perfectly. You rubbed at the sore spot and grumbled.

“Iwaizumi’s rubbing off on you, _senpai_ ,” you said in disdain. Oikawa scoffed at this.

“No, Iwaizumi's not rubbing off on me; I'm rubbing off on Iwa- _chan_.” Oikawa blinked. “Wait, let me rephrase—” He opened the doors to the gymnasium at the same time you let out a shriek of laughter.

“Where have you bee—oh?” Iwaizumi stopped at the sight of you in the same school uniform as him.

“ _Senpai_!” You beamed. All eyes were on you as you came running towards Iwaizumi, arms flailing about in a frenzy. Iwaizumi patted your head as you began to tell him your whole backstory of how you came to be at this school while Oikawa looked on mournfully.

“Iwa- _chan_ , why is she only nice to y—" But his voice was drowned out by his teammate, Yahaba, who introduced himself to you very, very enthusiastically. The boy had stars in his eyes, as if he were struck by Cupid himself.

*

**ACT II SCENE I | SPRING**

(March. Wednesday—one day before the third-years graduate.) 

“Hey, remember when you used to have a crush on me?” You yawned, taking your assigned seat next to Yahaba in homeroom. He turned in his chair and glared at you.

"Remember when you straight up rejected me?" 

You lifted your arms up in defence. "Hey, I didn't want to lead you on."

"You can think of it as preparation for what was to come with Karasuno's manager," Watari tried to add helpfully.

Yahaba threw his head back and groaned. "Why'd you have to bring that up, Shinji? And when did you even get here?"

You gasped and swivelled your chair closer to Yahaba. "Wait, _what?_ Yahaba, you never told me you confessed to Kiyoko- _san_!" Yahaba tried to back away from you but was blocked by Kyotani's stiff body napping next to him. "Yahaba,” you repeated, placing a hand on his shoulder, “you have to tell me what happened".

Yahaba groaned into his hands that were doing nothing to cover the flush creeping onto his cheeks. "No..." he whispered.

"Well," Watari interjected, "what happened was that he tried to look cool in front of Kiyoko by pretending to hit the ball out of target.”

“Whaaaat?” You didn’t even try to hide your growing smile to save what little pride Yahaba had left.

“It didn’t go so well. Actually—” He looked at Yahaba, who was getting paler by the second, then said in a lower voice. “It, um, nearly hit their other manager instead. Kiyoko had to step in to deflect the ball."

"Oh my god, I _have_ to tell Kiyoko- _san_ about this tonight."

"You're gonna WHAT?" Yahaba sputtered, face paling even further. "No," he shook his head wildly, "absolutely not."

"I think you mean absolutely yes; I am!" You cackled madly. Even Watari—good old, gentle-hearted Watari had to stifle his chuckle when your teacher came marching in to tell you all to settle down.

“Sorry _sensei_ ,” the three of you mumbled and they waved it off dismissively. “Yahaba, you should make your way to the careers counsellor’s office now.” Your teacher then gave you a pointed look. “And don’t forget that yours is first thing tomorrow morning”.

You nodded as solemnly as possible, then, once the teacher’s back was turned, you shot Yahaba a quick thumbs up before he left the classroom. 

Yahaba wanted to cry.

Though of course, you were joking about selling out Yahaba’s flirting incident to Kiyoko, and you made sure to tell him that as soon as he returned from his appointment.

“Sorry,” you started, but then that brilliant smile of yours shone again and suddenly all remnants of whatever resentment Yahaba might have had towards you melted away. “But you do know that I wouldn’t waste the opportunity to tease one of Oikawa’s boys, right?”

He sighed exasperatedly, which made you reach over to ruffle his hair the same way Oikawa would do to you when his jokes went too far. Yahaba changed the topic before heat could rush to his cheeks.

“A-anyway, you’re seeing Kiyoko tonight?”

“Yup, she invited me to dinner with her and Yachi—you know her, right? Yachi the manager you threw the ball at,” you answered, smiling at the mortification returning to Yahaba’s face. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

*

Kiyoko had invited you to have catch up at a dumpling house with her and Yachi after school. At first, you couldn’t help but feel a bit shy around them. After all, these were _the_ Karasuno girls you were eating with outside of school and you weren’t about to forget the time you were slightly envious of one of them because of a boy.

But as you sat and waited for your food, it looked like Yachi was the most nervous one out of you all. Your eyes softened. An instinctive part of you told you to at least break the ice with something trivial and dumb to make them feel more comfortable and so you took this opportunity to ask the first thing that came to your mind.

“So, do you like anyone, Yachi- _san_?” You asked, propping up your chin on your hand.

Yachi clasped her hands together at the sudden question. “N-nope,” she replied quickly. Albeit, _too_ quickly. Suspicious was what it was, and the pink tinge on her cheeks made you want to tease her, but Kiyoko swooped in first.

“Yachi's been filling in for me most of the time and she's been such a tremendous help so far."

"Ahh," Yachi covered her face in embarrassment, "thank you, Kiyoko- _senpai"_.

Kiyoko smiled and began pouring tea into three cups. “People admire Yachi for her diligence and creativity. Did you know that she's already gained a small fan club within our school? She's pretty popular with all the year levels, really."

You grinned at Yachi who was sweating from all the compliments she was receiving. “Ah, that explains why she doesn’t have a crush on anyone. She’s too busy fending off everybody.” Yachi’s face was a blushing mess while you and Kiyoko giggled mercilessly.

“Is that what happened to you, Kiyoko- _san_? Were you also too busy fending off admirers to have a crush on anyone?”

“Actually," Kiyoko averted her eyes, "I had a crush on you". Just then, the waiter had arrived with the xiao long bao. Kiyoko thanked the waiter and your jaw dropped—both at the visuals of the mouth-watering food and the fact that Kiyoko just confessed she had a crush on you out of all people.

“I thought it was obvious,” Kiyoko said. She busied herself with making enough space for everyone’s dishes on the table and continued avoiding eye contact with you. Since Kiyoko was clearly not going to elaborate, you looked to Yachi for guidance, but she just looked confused.

“You didn’t know?” Yachi said suddenly, not a nervous timbre to her voice this time. “I thought you knew.”

Despite the warmth in your cheeks at the sudden realisation, you had to press on. “No, I didn’t know anything!” Were you an airhead? You turned to Kiyoko for answers. “Since when?”

“Since the time you intervened when Oikawa asked for my number. I just, umm, didn’t do anything.”

“Oh my god, you’re a hypocrite," you said with a delightful grin. "You're graduating tomorrow but you didn’t do anything about your little crush on me before then! And you told me that I should've confessed.”

Kiyoko looked up at you with an amused look. “Well, you and Sugawara…” she trailed off.

 _Ah, that made sense._ You felt pretty guilty remembering all the times Kiyoko listened to you harp on about Sugawara and didn't know what else to do but apologise.

“I’m sorry."

Yachi looked on with genuine worry in her eyes. Seconds passed by, but then Kiyoko picked up her chopsticks and started piling dumplings onto her plate. 

“Hey, it’s in the past. Besides,” she smiled conspiratorially, “I have a date this weekend.” 

That made you feel a bit less guilty but you trusted Kiyoko was telling the truth.

“Oh?” You nudged her back. “Who’s the lucky person?” Kiyoko’s face turned a deep shade of pink. “Wait, don’t tell me—oh my god, is it one of the volleyball boys!?” Your jaw dropped for the second time that day.

She nodded and then in her quiet voice, said, “I told Tanaka I would go out with him after graduation.”

Yachi squealed in delight and all thoughts of Kiyoko and Sugawara holding hands evaporated from your mind. It didn’t matter anymore. It didn’t really even matter when it happened, you told yourself. Because Kiyoko was beaming with what you saw as the first inkling of something reciprocal that she had felt in a long time and you were so happy for her. You leaned in closer to stare at Kiyoko and before she could question what you were about to do, enveloped her in your arms. She made a surprise noise that was muffled by the tightness of your hug, and you weren’t about to let go just yet.

*

(Third-years’ Graduation Day.)

The next morning, it dawned on you that you wouldn’t be able to see the third years every day after today. After the graduation ceremony, Iwaizumi and Oikawa would be gone forever. Of course, the logical part of you knew that they wouldn't be really gone. You would probably see them at the next gathering and do the usual: eat good food, play some games, and then talk late into the night about dumb stuff while your parents would say their third round of goodbyes a.k.a. moving away from the kitchen to the hallway, and then finally to the doorway where they would spend another thirty minutes or so chatting instead of actually leaving.

But it wasn’t the same! As you got ready for your second-last day of school, these thoughts made you so unbelievably sad that tears began to well up in your eyes, and you wanted to cry so badly—but you were also so unbelievably late.

The day went as normally as possible, save for the tears you kept blinking back as you made your way to the careers’ counsellor’s office.

“Are you okay?” The counsellor asked as soon as she saw you swatting away at your eyes.

You nodded. “I’m fine.”

She nodded back curtly. “Ok, so—”

“I don’t want to be boxed into a job and waste my twenties regretting a decision that I made in high school. There’s already so much pressure on us to have our dream career straight out of high school but that’s just not realistic. A job’s a job! The first job I have after high school isn’t going to be the only job I have! Gah!” You didn’t know what possessed you, but if anything, you felt like it was the right thing to say.

The careers’ counsellor raised an eyebrow. “O-K… all valid points, but I was just going to ask if you were feeling ok. You look kind of nauseous.”

You stared at her in confusion. But then an onslaught of body pains made you double over in your chair. “Oh god,” you groaned, clutching your lower abdomen in pain. “Oh my god, seriously?”

“Okay!” The careers’ counsellor jumped to her feet and quickly grabbed something out of her drawers: a heat pack and a sanitary pad. “Let’s get you to the infirmary. This can wait.”

After cleaning up in the infirmary, you continued to moan your current predicament.

“Nooooo, the app said I was going to get it next week.” You stared up at the ceiling, contemplating your life, the world and questioning why it was so against you. “No wonder I wanted to bawl my eyes out so many times today,” you muttered to yourself.

The nurse returned to your side and you looked up at her with tears in your eyes. “Nurse, am I going to make it in time for the graduation ceremony?”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Just take this medication and be on your way. You’re practically a third year now, you can’t afford to skip another period.”

“Ugh, please don’t say that word.”

The nurse rolled their eyes and handed you a glass of water and pain relievers. “You’ll be fine. Now go.”

*

You went back to your classroom after the graduation assembly feeling emotionally exhausted from all the cheering and screaming until a strange empty feeling hit the pit of your stomach. A small box wrapped with a green, gingham pattern on your desk distracted you from the pain and you peaked around just in case you could catch the culprit. But there was nobody besides all your classmates getting ready for lunch time.

You read the tiny card addressed to you and could feel your cheeks hurting from smiling too much by the time you finished reading the message because you knew exactly who the sender was. You ran out of the classroom once the bell rang and there he was, chatting and laughing with some other students at the school gate who had matching signatures and drawings scrawled all over their school shirts.

“Oikawa- _senpai_!” You called out.

Oikawa’s head spun towards you and it was all you could do not to burst out crying then and there. Without meaning to, you practically crashed into him, wrapping your arms around his waist, hoping that you could express all the love you had for him by squeezing the oxygen out of his lungs. Oikawa hugged you back equally as tight, not knowing why you were the one being clingy for once in your life and not him, but appreciating the gesture all the same.

“Thank you for the present,” you mumbled into his shirt.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Oikawa said, obviously feigning innocence. You glared up at Oikawa and hugged him tighter.

“Ow, ow—okay! It was me. But let’s go walk over there so we can talk in private,” he suggested, and you responded by moving him a few steps to the left without letting go. Unsurprisingly, Oikawa doesn't say a word about not being able to breathe with the way you're holding him.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving.” You sighed and when you look up at Oikawa, he's covered his face up with both hands.

“Dude, are you crying?”

“No," Oikawa sniffled, "there’s pollen in my eyes.”

You gently patted him on the back. “It’s good to cry it all out,” you reassured. “You taught me that, remember?” Oikawa cried even harder and this time you couldn’t hold back the tears from earlier.

“I yelled at the careers’ counsellor today,” you mumbled suddenly.

Oikawa wiped his eyes and chuckled between sniffles. “Why’d you do that?”

Your shoulders lifted up in an effort to shrug without loosening your grip around him.

“Well, try not to dwell on it, ok? Tomorrow, I’ll drop by after school with some bubble tea and we can go get some food together. My treat.”

*

_To my lovely, dearest friend,_

_Thank you for making the last two years of high school a bit more bearable just by being there with me. If you hadn’t moved schools back then, who knows what we would be like now? Would we be as close as we are now? I don't know. But at least what I do know is that life wouldn’t have been the same without you._

_Already missing you,_

_\- O_

_P.S. You better not forget me when I’m gone or I'm going to haunt your dreams._


End file.
